Being Mindful in Business - One Day Workshop

Living and Working in a Mindful Way

Mindfulness techniques have been around for thousands of years. Mindfulness as we know it today is attributed to Jon Kabat-Zinn where after learning the practice of meditation founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Mindfulness is a very simple concept and means paying attention in a very particular way, namely on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.

Mindfulness is simply a practical way to notice your thoughts, feelings and emotions. The skills are simple to learn, but as it is so different to how our minds usually work, it does take a bit of practice.

Benefits for YOU

"I think, therefore I am" - Rene Descartes.

"I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened" - Mark Twain.

For most of us our thoughts never seem to stop. They come one after another until we fall asleep. As soon as we wake in the morning, there they are again. Very quickly we can get ourselves into a cycle of negative chatter which can lead us into escape routes like drugs, alcohol, food, overworking etc. Then we beat ourselves up for falling into negative behaviour...and so the cycle continues.

This continuous mental noise makes it difficult to find inner stillness and peace. Instead we can feel surrounded by fear and suffering. Mindfulness provides us with an escape route from the endless judgemental, critical and fearful chatter in our minds.

Our overactive negative chatter can lead to acute or chronic stress. Learning how to be more mindful can not only positively shift our perspective of any problem, it can also reduce the risk of depression by half.

When we live and work from a more consciously controlled and peaceful inner place we are more open and receptive to new ideas and opportunities, we are more productive, are happier and live a more successful life.

Benefits for your Business

A few short years ago he thought of using mindfulness in the workplace would have undoubtedly raised a few eyebrows. Since the scientific evidence of how of mindfulness can cultivate well-being it has been embraced by many businesses including banks, advertising agencies, schools, government departments and third sector organisations.

Many large businesses like Google, Intel and Goldman Sachs have successfully implemented mindfulness programmes into their organisations.

We often spend more time in the workplace than we do at home. Often thrown together with a group of people we've never met and expected to work cooperatively and productively in an environment that is largely alien to the way humans have historically built communities.

Workplaces at one end of the spectrum can experience the horrors of bullying and internal conflict, and at the other end of the spectrum indifference and a lack of caring.

The success of a business is linked to motivation, problem solving, collaboration within its workforce. Poor working relationships and stress can erode goodwill, lower productivity and increase sickness levels.

When mindfulness is used with a workplace it can reduce conflict, create more positive working relationships, reduce stress and anxiety, aid the management of change as well as helping to create a more peaceful and collaborative working environment.

Mindfulness Mind Training Workshop

In this full day workshop to be held near Plymouth Devon (venue yet to be confirmed) 9:00 am to 4 pm during Sept 19 (date to be confirmed) you will experience the techniques of mindfulness for yourself. We will then build on how these can be used in the workplace. The day ends with an exciting drumming session in expressing mindless thinking into mindful thinking...taking you straight into the present moment.

The plan for the day is as follows:

Morning

Teas and coffees on arrival

Introductions

What is mindfulness?

Using mindfulness for successful living

Buffet Lunch

Afternoon

Mindfulness and listening

Mindfulness and decision making

Mindfulness and conflict

Mindfulness and corporate change

About Debbie

Debbie Clement-Large founded Why follow the Herd in 2015 after working in the transformation and change arena and seeing how fearful, anxious, depressed and scared people facing change were feeling. She realised that the one thing not taught in schools (or often in life generally) was how to live an emotionally resilient and successful life.

Yet we can all learn the tools and techniques for taking back control and empowering our life.

Debbie is a qualified Advanced Life Coach, CBT practitioner, Assertiveness Coach, Stress Management practitioner, Mindfulness practitioner, Meditation practitioner, Licensed Heal your Life teacher and is currently three years into her Spiritual Life Counselling training.

Some of the organisations Debbie has coached or provided workshops for include Plymouth City Council, Plymouth NHS Hospitals Trust, Plymouth University, Pluss, Hansford Bell, The Zone and Novahomes Lettings. She is the life coach on BBC Radio Devon and has been on Radio Plymouth.

She believes that it is never too late to create positive change in your life.